Eating well isn't boring. With so many amazing new healthy snacks and options on the market, I love being able to choose the best foods for my body to nourish myself and to fuel my busy life
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Sunday, 5 June 2016

Arla Protein Snack Pot Mellow Vanilla Review

I've long been a big fan of the Arla Protein Pots now. Though they look like a yogurt, they are actually made from quark, a kind of cheese, and offer a whopping 20g of protein per pot. I love their ridiculously thick texture (think Philadelphia consistency) with a smooth taste that isn't too sweet. I was slightly disappointed with the recent papaya and passion fruit one as I felt berry flavours worked better but was really intrigued by this new mellow vanilla version, which comes with a seperate topping compartment of fruit bits and seeds.

Like the other Arla Protein pots, they contain 20g of protein per pot but this is part of a new range along with a warming ginger one,which has quite a few differences. On a minor levels there are 220g pots rather than 200g and obviously it contains a topping compartment as well but one key difference is consistency. Whereas the normal pots are quark and extremely thick, this is a blend of quark and yogurt (40% each of the total ingredients). This gives it a very different consistency. It's more runny than the pure quark pots and other brands like Skyr but still thicker than your supermarket own label Greek style yogurt.

Whether this blend is done as a deliberate decision or a cost cutting exercise I'm not sure. If this only contained yogurt like the other flavours in the range , I wouldn't be happy as I want that thick, satisfying texture. However, as it comes with the topping, it makes sense to have a slightly looser consistency so you can stir and mix it in. Trying to stir seeds through the normal Arla pots would be a bit of a challenge.

It's nice that it also comes with a plastic spoon to make this a great on the go protein source or for taking out to work or the gym. The yogurt/quark mix feels lusciously creamy in the mouth with a smooth, authentic vanilla flavour. It contains real vanilla seeds and it's nice seeing them speckled through the pure white yogurt and the whole thing has a lovely vanilla smell.

Like the other Arla products, it's not too sweet -interesting to note on these that they are sweetened with grape juice concentrate rather than normal Arla Protein which is a mix of sugar and stevia. Total sugar for the entire pot is good at under 14g and all natural from the grape concentrate and the dried fruit in the topping.

The topping of this pot contained pumpkin and sunflower and dried apple and raspberry. It's a good generous portion and I actually ended up not using it all. Once swirled through the yogurt, it makes a fantastic mix and reminded me of the feeling of eating a Muller Corner before I moved to healthier products. The apple and raspberry add a fruit counter balance to the mild vanilla and the seeds add texture without overpowering the taste of the yogurt.

Overall I loved this product, great nutritionals and delicious to boot. They're a little expensive for what they are but certainly something I would buy again. They're really filling and satisfying. At over 200 calories they're more than a normal yogurt but you have to remember this isn't full of nasties, is meant to fuel you and is full of protein, calcium and good stuff.